Montserrat, Spain is many things; it’s a mountain, a monastery, and a great idea for a day trip from Barcelona… but I didn’t care about any of those things. All I wanted out of my day in Montserrat was to get a picture on top of the Stairway to Heaven. Unfortunately, figuring out how to get to those stairs took quite a bit of time, quite a bit of research, and a lot of different websites. So I’ve decided to make the journey a bit easier for anybody else trying to get to Montserrat in the future, whether you’re going for the hike, the monastery, or if you’re like me and want to do some illegal climbing. Continue reading →

Mojave Desert, Negev Desert, Black Rock Desert (Burning Man, amiright!?), Gobi Desert, and of course there’s the ever famous, Sahara Desert. When I originally planned my trip to Morocco, I decided against doing a camel tour through the Sahara, my reason being that I needed more time in Marrakesh. I also thought that riding a camel through the Negev when I was in Israel was enough (I was wrong. Once is never enough!). Continue reading to find out why I am SO glad I decided to change my original plan, and why you should definitely take a tour through the Sahara. Continue reading →

We all have our favorite places around the world, and although I live in a stunning area of California, right on the bluffs overlooking the beach, there are 10 places outside of America that I can call my favorite (for now)! Continue reading →

Have you ever seen photos of places in which the colors are so vibrant and incredible that it looks like photoshop? Well, Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is one of the few places that has those colors without needing the fake effects of photoshop! It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and well worth the title. Plitvice Lakes is just under a 2 hour drive if you’re going there from Zagreb, which is what I did. Continue reading →

We all know the many different fairy tales out there, and we all loved growing up with them. Hallstatt is a town in Austria that literally takes you into Snow White’s world. With its colorful buildings and stunning lake, Hallstatt is like a dream. Continue reading →

My first real backpacking trip was in Europe, where I spent 50 days traveling to 13 countries and 34 cities. At the end of it all, when I looked back thinking about which city was my absolute favorite, Budapest came to mind. While in some cities I experienced stunning sights, and in others I enjoyed myself to a great extent, Budapest had the best of both worlds. In no particular order, here are all the reasons that I ended my trip with Budapest as my number 1! Continue reading →

Berlin, Germany is a city best known for its infamous wall. And while the wall is awesome, and definitely high up at the top of my list of favorite things to do in Berlin, there are many other interesting things to do and see while you’re there, some of which I’m sure are well known, and others which are much less publicized, yet just as exciting (if not more). This time, my list is saving the best for last, so read on to find out the BEST thing to do in Berlin! Continue reading →

Traveling on a budget probably means that you’ll be staying in quite a few hostels. Personally, I LOVE hostels. (For the most part…) Staying in hostels makes it that much easier to meet travelers from all over the world and build new friendships with some really cool people. But if you don’t do your research right, you can end up in a hostel that isn’t the greatest, and that could potentially ruin your experience in whatever city it is you’re visiting. When I book hostels, I like to use HostelWorld.com because they have tons of options with reviews and ratings AND they don’t charge you a booking fee. Continue reading →

Paris. The city of love. The city of sooo many things. Which is why it’s also a city with so much tourism. Famous tourist traps are famous for a reason. Sometimes, these tourist traps can be extremely overwhelming (like getting herded like cattle trying to reach the Statue of Liberty), but sometimes, the tourist traps are much more doable. When I went to Paris, I definitely indulged in the tourism, but I also spent time appreciating and absorbing this incredible city. Keep reading to find out the 15 things you should do when you take your trip to Paris while keeping a good balance of both tourism and general appreciation! Continue reading →

You may not have heard of Giverny but you’ve definitely heard of Monet. Monet’s stunning paintings of gorgeous green gardens and calm lakes covered with lily pads are infamous. These paintings are of his gardens which are in the small town of Giverny. So why should Giverny be on your bucket list? In one word – it’s PERFECT. Continue reading →